Now then, your images are BEAUTIFUL! Exactly what people need to be seeing! I am serious, that is just wonderful photography. I can see already one has responded to your post. Next time (and there WILL be a next time ) Just post a few, then trickle them out over the next few days. My hope is to keep that thread nailed to the top of the forum there. Already it is the 4th most active thread in the Alt. forum.

Your work with Portra is inspiring. For whatever reason I have NEVER liked my own photography when I tried Portra, but I just LOVE other people's work with it. Very bizarre.

THANK YOU for your post over at FM! I mean it.

The FM interface is very very old fashioned There's not even preview. What I don't like is that when I click on the photo it doesn't send people to the bigger image on flickr, where there's more information about the photo is.

Thanks for the complements, but I don't think they are that great. Unless I can get my photo featured on 1x.com etc... I will keep working on it. At the moment I'm studding more about photography and artwork in general. Hopefully there is some kind of artistic talent hidden inside of me, since it seems to run in the family. Unfortunately I have never worked on trying to develop it. On the other hand my sister is a painter and she makes a living out of it.

Portra is very nice film, but as always in photography, it's all about capturing light. The place was nice, the light was great, the mood was just right and I took the photo. If you want to see the rest of my photos, go to my flickr. I still have to post up all of my photos from my trip to Japan.

And if you need help in trying to develop your photography, send me a PM. I can provide you with few links.

I like Dan. Always have. I've even sent him a piece of equipment (an easel) from my own darkroom for free. (Although he did generously send me some money for it later on his own.)

The taunting reference was not made with you mind, RM. It was instead a reference to the constant drumbeat of, if you guys were only talented enough to be professional photographers, then you'd understand everything. But you're not. So you don't.

Well, I and most of us aren't. But that doesn't mean we all just fell off the turnip truck. There's a LOT of killer intelligent people on here (myself excluded) who ALSO know a lot about photography. And they're already making six figures in other professional fields. And photography is only an avocation for them. And still they do understand everything that's being discussed about photography.

Don't taunt these people for not being professional photographers...

Ken

"When making a portrait, my approach is quite the same as when I am portraying a rock. I do not wish to impose my personality upon the sitter, but, keeping myself open to receive reactions from his own special ego, record this with nothing added: except of course when I am working professionally, when money enters in,—then for a price, I become a liar..."

I like Dan. Always have. I've even sent him a piece of equipment (an easel) from my own darkroom for free. (Although he did generously send me some money for it later on his own.)

The taunting reference was not made with you mind, RM. It was instead a reference to the constant drumbeat of, if you guys were only talented enough to be professional photographers, then you'd understand everything. But you're not. So you don't.

Well, I and most of us aren't. But that doesn't mean we all just fell off the turnip truck. There's a LOT of killer intelligent people on here (myself excluded) who ALSO know a lot about photography. And they're already making six figures in other professional fields. And photography is only an avocation for them. And still they do understand everything that's being discussed about photography.

Don't taunt these people for not being professional photographers...

Ken

I think there could have been a fair bit of miscommunication and topics from old threads brought up. In a lot of doom and gloom threads lots of pros get flak for not promoting film enough etc... I can understand people who have their own business working 24/7 on promoting their business.

I do work as a professional, but I don't have to do it 24/7. I think a lot of things are taken out of context around here.

I think there could have been a fair bit of miscommunication and topics from old threads brought up. In a lot of doom and gloom threads lots of pros get flak for not promoting film enough etc... I can understand people who have their own business working 24/7 on promoting their business.

I do work as a professional, but I don't have to do it 24/7. I think a lot of things are taken out of context around here.

I agree and can understand that promotion as well. But it's possible to raise up your own level without also dragging everyone else's down. If the only criterion for knowledgable participation as a photographer on APUG is that one must be a professional practitioner of it, then 99.8% of us are doomed. We may as well drop our memberships and slink away with out tails between our legs.

On the other hand, I chose to believe that all of us, professional photographers or not, have something to offer, each in their own chosen way. On my excursions out with various antique LF cameras I get into so many film conversations with people who are utterly fascinated that I'm thinking of printing up cards with both APUG's and Freestyle's addresses on them.

[Edit: And poor Dan would probably clutch his chest and fall over dead from a heart attack if he knew how many times I've championed Kodak film in these conversations. My standard line is that it's Kodak (and color) that needs the help. Not Ilford (and b&w), who are doing just fine.]

But then again, I'm not a professional photographer, so I guess those conversations don't count since I can't possibly understand what photography is all about. I did, however, just finish my professional day. It's 12:19am here on the mainland US West Coast...

"When making a portrait, my approach is quite the same as when I am portraying a rock. I do not wish to impose my personality upon the sitter, but, keeping myself open to receive reactions from his own special ego, record this with nothing added: except of course when I am working professionally, when money enters in,—then for a price, I become a liar..."

Ken, generally speaking, I like you too. But in the past year I have been getting increasingly fed up with a lot of things on here.

One such thing is what drives a lot of other income earning photographers like my self away, not only is there gross misinformation about the profession of photography on here, there is spite....it's awful.
Not from you but other people. There is also some very counterproductive engagement about the state of the industry. People like Simon only chime in when Iford's name is dropped, otherwise he stays out of it.

I will be 47 years old next month and while I have enjoyed a great career, I want to *really* ramp it up to more than just the next level. I want to create some wealth and notoriety in order for my wife and I to retire, so she does not have to keep working as hard and maybe take some time off to get her PHD in Forensic Anthropology which is both her major and her passion.

I am finding more and more everyday that I can not deal with some of the windbagging arm chair opinions that go on here and on the net in general. it is truly draining me, my friends who are very successful at what we do keep telling me to stay off the forums, to give back and mentor through workshops which I have started doing.

You and I normally get tangled up when it comes to discussions of how we voice our complaints about certain film makers or not. But tonight I read something that made it sound like people do photography to relax because it is easier than some high tech demanding job they may do.

I took it personally, as if you did not think putting out top notch pro work was hard. Bottom line, the very notion of a paid photographer who is well worth the money someone may pay him has come under increasing amounts of nastiness here, blanket statements being made like NONE of us are doing well and there is no need for us. It's not like there are dozens of pros chiming in and causing a stir, if anything they are generally absent here and you might want to consider why that is...

Put your self in my shoes....I came here to learn and share. In one post in the medium format section, I took the time to show the visual differences between Hassy lenses and even gave great detail in how to put filters like IR 720nm on a Hasselblad 40mm. I tried Ken and after tonight I am giving up...I deleted in less than 5 minutes what took me nearly a decade to upload on here.

I use the easel you sent me all the time, I will always be grateful for that. But the overall negative tone and by far the worst, the constant throwing of mud at the notion of someone getting paid well to do what most on here love with a passion, I have to be done once and for all, it's toxic.

I have made my dream of being a photographer come true for the past 23 years, now it is time for me to make my next dream come true, to truly become a film and darkroom based fine art photographer that is simply hard to miss.

I find I simply can not do that when I get upset or even depressed at how things go on here....it affects me deeply and there is no turning that off, it is who I am.

So I truly wish all of you the best, I had to sign back on to send a PM to someone I am dealing with regarding a classified. You won't have to hear me defending Kodak or the profession of photography anymore....good night and good light.

Not trying to beg off here, Dan. But I too have a client who is going to want to see the software fix I have been digging out for the last two days. So I do need to get some sleep tonight. It's even later where you are.

I'm going to send you a PM tomorrow...

Take care,
Ken

"When making a portrait, my approach is quite the same as when I am portraying a rock. I do not wish to impose my personality upon the sitter, but, keeping myself open to receive reactions from his own special ego, record this with nothing added: except of course when I am working professionally, when money enters in,—then for a price, I become a liar..."

I think you can easily recognize how forum participation here is doing you nothing but ill. It is very wise of you to move on, despite the fact that I've always enjoyed your posts. That you can see so clearly how your work suffers from how the atmosphere here affects you should power you through and find a new outlet to enjoy your craft.

Best of luck to you in your well stated goals. I am sure that with hard work, very hard work, you will get there.

WTF what is wrong with APUG should be the name of a new thread. APUG is about promoting and sharing analogue photography and yet it seems that it has become a bash Kodak forum mixed with we're all gonna (film) die. I can relate to the defeatists up to a point, but honestly what is the point of APUG if this kind of thing is happening on this forum. We should promote film for our own interest, (the Apug gallery is honestly a useless tool in promoting film photography) if we don'T we'll lose it. Someone in this thread rightly said APUG is the friendlies and film should be promoted behind the enemies line.

I am also sorry to see Dan go, this is wrong and shows that not all is good in APUG land.

As for promotion I do use film and unfortunately digital as a pro but I try to use film whenever I can and try to get my client to go the film route. I also hold lectures about photography and film history and try to promote analogue photography there as well. I am also member of a 99% digital Photoclub and constantly use Film for the work I show there and try to get others members to the filmside. When I am shooting on the street or nature and people comment on the tools I use I try to promote film by stating it's advantages and the magic behind film.
I also use thousands of feet of film per year which is the best kind of promotion I go out and shoot still and moving pictures with film.